While the Fraternity has gone through difficult times in our history, this period will undoubtedly be looked at as one of the most challenging in the past 70 years.
I wish I could share with you with certainty what the new normal will be, but no one can do that. What I can share with great confidence is that it will not just be business as usual in August/September 2020. This means that we need to begin anticipating changes that may be required come the fall semester and beyond. Here is a partial list of some of the issues that you will want to start considering:
1. Enrollment numbers changing. Reports from a variety of sources suggest that there could be a 20% reduction in the freshman class as a result of the pandemic. This might not affect your house numbers for the fall semester, but it will of course impact recruitment and the numbers for either later that year or in 2021.
There is also speculation that a percentage of out of state students may not return to the school they attended this past year in the fall. This of course could have an immediate financial impact on the HC.
We may need to be prepared to include cancellation clauses in our lease if COVID-19 resurfaces again next year during the typical "flu" season.
2. Changes in cleaning. It is very likely that there will be new standards/expectations for house cleaning processes in communal housing. This may either be government driven or simply the expectation of the parents and students. It is possible that this will mean more frequent cleaning and may necessitate the use of professional cleaning services. In either case, it is safe to assume that you will be spending more on cleaning and cleaning supplies next year.
3. Food operations. There are several concerns in this area, including whether buffet-style / communal eating will be allowed, or if individual servings or to-go containers are needed. This could result in higher costs for both containers and serving food. There could also be new cleaning/sanitation standards, and unless you are outsourcing your food service to a professional organization, it could mean more time and effort will be required to oversee food service. (Note: we do not recommend the chapter should be overseeing this directly with a provider. Rather, the employment of a chef or food service company be done by the house corporation, and we mentor and use student involvement as a learning experience.)
4. Changes in lease length/time. There are already reports that some institutions have announced shorter semesters and changes in finals week, which suggests that students could be on campus for less time. This means costs will have to be allocated over a shorter period of time (looking like a rate increase to the men). House corporations are going to need to monitor this for how it applies to food service and cleaning contracts as well.
5. Lost revenue and impacts on reserves, maintenance and improvements. Undoubtedly, many house corporations are going to have experienced some "loss of revenue" from the recent pandemic. Combined with the above factors, it is going to be difficult but important to rebuild reserves and stay on track with repairs and maintenance so that the quality of the housing experience does not get compromised. There also needs to be consideration for a reoccurrence or new crisis that emerges soon and ensure that the HC will be financially ready to face what happens.
6. Communications with undergraduates and graduates. While you may not know exactly what changes you will need to make, we encourage you to stay in close communications with the chapter and your graduate base, keeping them posted on what is happening with your chapter house. We encourage that you err on the side of over-communication with both undergraduates and graduates.
1848 Housing is here to support you! We are not going to have all the answers, but know that you are not in this alone and we will try to help you any way we can. Please continue to check the Housing section under the Graduate tab on the Phi Gamma Delta website for resources.
Stay well,
Steve Bocher
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